Disinfecting cabinet and the like



Jan. 31, 1928. 1,657,981

' c. s. VALE DISINFECTING CABINET AND THE LIKE Patented Jan. 31, 1928.

."UN D 1,657,981 PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES sinnnny VALE, or IBIARRITZ, cannon.

nisrnrnorme CABINET Ann THE LIKE.

Application filed November 30, 1326, Serial No. 151,?15, and in- Great Britain December 15, 1925 This invention relates to disinfecting cabinets for .clothing, household linen and the like andhas for its object not only to provide an article of domestic furniture which can be readily used without risk of fire, but

further. to provide means whereby the unpleasant after efiects of disinfectant gas can be obviated.

Ashitherto no satisfactory domestic disinfecting apparatus has existed, it has been necessary to send articles of clothing, house hold linen, blankets or the like to some establishment which specializesin such treatment or to seal up, an entire room and fumigate the articles by burning some disinfectant in the room. In the former case the articles are often exposed to infection for example in transit, before being returned to their owners and the expedient of fumigation by scaling up a room is both incon. Venient and of doubtful eificiency. Owing to the lack of some ready means for disinfecting such articles of clothingor the like which are frequently exposed to infection, often without their owners knowledge, they are seldom if ever disinfected as often as they should be, and in thisway many infeotious diseases are generally spread.

.According to this invention a cabinet or wardrobe is provided which does not differ in general external appearance or dimensions from an ordinary piece of household furnitureand comprises a main compartment to receivethe garments or other articles to be disinfected which can be hermetically closed and within which a disinfectant gas can be liberated without the employment of fire, and a secondary compartment containin means whereby the disinfectant gas canrsu bsequentlyynot only be driven out of the main compartment through suitable valve-controlled passages but further replaced by a neutralizing gas before the 010s ing door is again opened. The second compartment may be formed to one side of or below themaincompartment, and the fan or bellows which it contains is so arranged that the air which itdraws or forces through the -main compartment. is made to pass through some substance which causes it to neutralize the disinfecting gases as well as expelling them through the outlet opening.

The 'outletopeningin the main chamber is preferably formed in the upper wall or roof thereof and may communicate directly with the-atmosphere, for example, through a W1I1-4 dow or through the chimney of the room, or

in some cases a flexible pipe may be provided by means of which the interior of the dlsinfecting chamberniay be placed in communication with the atmosphere after the outlet yalve has been opened, the flexible pipe belng conveniently coiled up and stored on the top of the-cabinet when it is not in use.

Obviously the nature of the device for forclng air and neutralizing gases through the main chamber may be considerably Va ried to suit the general dimensions and character of the cabinet or wardrobe, in all cases however the arrangement being such that after the; contents of the main cabinet have been exposed for the necessary period to the action of the disinfecting gases, the latter can be readily and quickly expelled by means of a device which forms an integral part of the article of furniture.

a The disinfectant employed may vary so long as the gases are liberated without the use of fire inside the main compartment itself or in a compartment adjacent thereto and communicating therewith and forming an integral portion of the cabinet or wardrobe, since in all cases the invention comprises a self-contained unit having its own disinfecting chamber and means both for liberating and for expelling and neutrali z ing the disinfecting gases.

One construction of wardrobe or cabinet according to this invention is illustrated in a diagrammatic manner in the accompanying drawings, in which Figurel is a front elevation showing the door closed, and

Figure 2 is a. sectional side elevation. In the construction illustrated, the wardrobe comprises a main compartment A provided with a door 13 by means of which the main compartment can be hermetically closed. Below the main compartment is a second compartment or chamber O which communicates with the main. compartment by means of an inlet valve G which may be of the non-return type indicated or furnished with some positive operating means such as a slide or shutter. The valve O in the construction diagrammatically shown can open in an upward direction but prevents any gases passing downwards from the main chamber A into the second cham-. ber O. In the upper wall or roof of the main chamber A is an outlet opening, D

the construction which icanwbe elosed by means of a slide or shutter D without it being necessary to open the door B. The outlet opening'D may be provided with a flexible or other pipe D which maybe coiled up so as to be concealed by means of thecornice A when not in use, or taken to any suitable outlet in theroom, for. example, tothe window or? vice for forcing air drawn fromthe atmos phere through the mam chamber A; To this end a series of air inlet openings E are formed in the walls of the compartment-and mechanism is provided within the compare ment for forcing air'drawn in through these openings through the inletport C in the baseor floor of the main compartn'ient. In

diagrannnaticallyillustrated, the air forcing device comprises a bellows arrangen'ient F provided with i an operating lever F pivotally mounted at F and connected through a slot in the side wall of thecabinet with a stirrup-shaped member F which bridges the bellows. The air is admitted into the bellows F by means of a flapvalve F in the base of the bellows but instead of the atmospheric air passing di'rectly into the bellows, it is caused to flow through some such substance as carbonate ofammoni'a arranged in a drawer or tray'G below the bellows so that the an: drawn in through'the openings E must necessarily pass through thismaterial before-being admittedyto the bellows through the inlet valve F and discharge into the disinfecting chamber through the valve 0 As; the

drawer G is readily removable, the materialwhich'it contains can be replacedfrom time to time without difficulty.

' men tA'any known system of shelves, hooks or hangers which are in themselves known, and therefore are not illustrated,-being used for this purpose.

Upon the base or floor of thermain com-- pert nent is then placed a disinfecting carton'containing a suitable disinfectant and a substance; which will cause the disinfectant to be vap ourized Without the employment; of fire when water is added theret0.. The dimensions of thecarton and'the nature of its contents may of course be varied with out departing from the present; invention andthe, cartonillustrated at H in Figure 2 of the drawings is shown merely byway of examplein a diagrammatic manner, it-v self formingnopart of the present invenlion; 7

pipe D has previously been closed.

As soon as water has been added to the carton, the door Bis closed, carebeingtaken to'see that the outlet valve D or its equivalent atthe free end of the flexible outlet valve C by means of which air or neutralizing gas 1s admitted to the main compartment is automatically closedbutr, if desired, may be provided with some closing device of any known type.

Afterth-e articles to be disinfected have been subjected to the action of the disin, foctant gascsfor a sufiicient period, the free end of the flexible pipe I) placed in the chimney or through an open window,-. if it does'not already communicate therewith, the outlet valve D or its equivalentiat-ithe free end of the tube isopened and the aperating handle F of the bellows is actuated.

in this way atmosphericlair from the roonr is drawn Ill through the ()POHIHQSE and causto flow through the niaterialwcontained, in the drawer or trayG into theibel= lows i through the inlet valve F being then :t'orred by means of the bellows through the inlet valve G into the main chamber A so that the disinfecting gascswhich the main chamber contains are expelledv through the .mitlet D and pipe D and are further replaced by a neutralizing. gas, since in passing through the tray (lathe air drawn in through the openings E has taken upthe carbonate of an'nnonia or other matorialicontained therein.

The relative dimensions of the main'comm partment and the bellows can be so arranged that the entire gaseous contents ofv the main conu'iartinent can be expelled into-the atmosphere either throughthe window or upthe chimney after the actuating lever F has been operated a few times, so that when the main door B is opened, not only will Hill the gases liberated by the disinfectant carton be completely expelled, but :in. addition, any trace of these gases which might beretained by the articles being disinfected will have been neutralize-d It will be appreciated that the construe: tion is capable of considerable;variation without departing from thisinvention and that although the bellows are shown below the floor of the main chamber,theyanay be disposediri a compartn'lent on eitherside thereof a or in any other convenient posi: tion. Further, if desired, thelcartonvcan be housed in a r cess-for1ned in. thefloorv or base of the main chamber instead of resting on the base as shown. It will fillllllGI'rlJG appreciated that although primarily de-. signed for use for disinfecting purposes, a wardrobe or cabinet according tOmtlllS in? vention can atother times betreated for the storage of clothes or linenimthe.ordinary way and since, inexternal appearance, it does not difler fromanordinarypiece of The llltl furniture, it is possible to convert existing wardrobes into disinfecting cabinets according to this invention, or to replace existing wardrobes with a disinfecting cabinet as above described without diminishing the accommodation available for the storage of clothing or other articles.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A disinfecting cabinet comprising in combination a main compartment having a gas outlet therein, a valve controlling said outlet, a door by means of which said compartment can be hermetically sealed, a second compartment having an air inlet port and an outlet opening communicating with the main compartment, a valve controlling said outlet, means for generating a disinfectant gas within the main compartment without the employment of fire, a receptacle containing a neutralizing substance Within the secondary compartment, and means for drawing air into the second compartment and forcing it into the main compartment after it has passed over the neutralizing substance to discharge and replace the disinfectant gas which escapes through the gas outlet in the main compartment prior to the openin of the main compartment door as set fort 2. A disinfecting cabinet comprising in combination a main compartment having a gas outlet therein, a valve controlling said outlet, a door by means of which said compartment can be hermetically sealed, a sec ond compartment having an air inlet port and an outlet opening communicating with the main compartment, a valve controlling said outlet, a receptacle within the main compartment containing a disinfectant and a substance which will vapourize the disinfectant when liquid is added thereto, a receptacle containing a neutralizing substance within the second compartment, and means for drawing air into the second compartment and forcing it into themain compartment after it has passed over the neutralizing substance to discharge and replace the disinfectant gas which escapes through the gas outlet in the main compartment prior to the opening of the main compartment door as set forth.

3. A disinfecting cabinet comprising in combination a main compartment having a gas outlet therein, a flexible conduit connected to said outlet, a valve controlling said outlet, a door by means of which said compartment can be hermetically sealed, a second compartment having an air inlet port and an outlet opening communicating with the main compartment, a valve controlling said outlet, a. receptacle within the main compartment containing a disinfectant and a substance which will vapourize the disinfectant when liquid is added thereto, a receptacle containing a neutralizing substance within the second compartment, and means for drawing air into the second compartment and forcing it into the main compartment after it has passed Over the neutralizing substance to-discharge and replace the disinfectant gas which escapes through the gas outlet in the main compartment prior to the opening of the main compartment door as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

CHARLES SILLERY VALE. 

